Monday, May 17, 2010

Susie Dent sent me the following information about our meeting for Thursday, May 27th. Please join us if you can! Thank you, Susie!

A program about the massive mountainside sculpture at Stone Mountain,Georgia will be presented at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 27, 2010 at the Helen FosterAuditorium, Lee County Library, 219 N. Madison, Tupelo, MS. This is a freeprogram that is open to the public.

The program is entitled "TheUltimate Confederate Memorial Goes South OR What Would the Three Horsemen ofStone Mountain Say If They Could Speak?" The monument is sculpted onthe side of the largest granite mountain in the northern hemisphere. Theunderstaking of the sculpture of three Confederate soldiers will be discussedand include topics about the organization of its construction, politicalentanglements, the people who led the project, and the fund-raising schemeswhich evolved into the U.S. Government's minting of a commemorativehalf-dollar.

The program presenters will be Tupelo residents JamesC. Harris and his wife Sarah Bell Harris. Mr. Harris is a historian,researcher and collector of artifacts and information of the War Between theStates. He is a nationally-recognized authority and author on made andmarked swords of the Confederacy and counter-struck Stone Mountain halfdollars. Previously living in Corinth, MS, he has served asvice-mayor of Corinth, MS. Harris has held several leadership positionswith the Jacinto and Yocona Area Councils where he earned the Silver Beaver, thehighest adult service award presented by a Scout council. He was afounding member of the Corinth's Historical Commission and a long-time member ofthe Mississippi Historical Society. He was the first director and curator of theCorinth Museum. He is a member of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans andthe Sons of the American Revolution. Mrs. Harris is a Tupelo native, a member ofthe Mary Stuart Chapter of the DAR, a Master Gardener and former president ofthe Corinth School Board. Mr. and Mrs. Harris are active members of the FirstBaptist Church, Tupelo, MS.